The DWS-4026 is D-Link’s next generation L2+ Unified Wired/Wireless Gigabit Switch/Controller with an array of advanced features and 802.11n support. Providing higher throughput, reliability and scalability, the DWS-4026 can manage up to 64 wireless access points. Equipped with combo SFP ports, open slots for optional 10-Gigabit connections, Power over Ethernet and redundant power supply (RPS) support, the DWS-4026 provides enterprises with an easy upgrade to next-generation 802.11n wireless LAN, simple deployment of wireless devices regardless of physical locations, and centralised management/policy enforcement of wireless mobility.

Core Unit Controlling Entire Wireless Network.
The DWS-4026 Gigabit Wireless Switch/Controller is core unit that consolidates the security, manages the bandwidth and maintains the intelligence of the entire wireless network. In addition to monitoring users’ identities and maintaining their authentication as they roam, the switch can configure and control all aspects of the wireless access points, including: RF channel and power management, wireless traffic segmentation, AP roaming and load balancing, rogue AP detection and AP access security.

Adaptable Wireless
Most of the current wireless LAN controllers’ architecture requires wireless traffic to return to the controller for centralised processing, causing unnecessary traffic delay. The DWS-4026 offers administrators additional options: depending on the wireless application, wireless traffic can either be tunnelled back to the switch for better security control, or locally forwarded at the access point for optimal performance.

Wireless LAN Security
The switch provides the means to define and detect rogue APs, to prevent illegal intrusions into the internal network. It provides user-based services such as virtual private group (SSID) membership, encryption type, authentication, location tracking and associated network statistics.
The Wireless Intrusion Detection System (WIDS) capability enables network administrators to anticipate wireless threats and prevent them from causing any damage to the network. With the DWS-4026, you can activate various threat detection tests and set threat detection thresholds.

Seamless Wireless Roaming (Fast Roaming)
As wireless users roam around the office using wireless equipment, they may change their connection from AP to AP. By constantly monitoring the APs status, the switch can establish an AP-to-AP roaming for these users without requiring them to re-establishing authentication keys. This “Fast Roaming” process results in disruption-free, reliable wireless connectivity crucial for mobile applications such as Wi-Fi IP phone and wireless PDA connections. Fast Roaming can be supported within a subnet (Layer 2) or across subnet boundaries (Layer 3). “AP-AP Tunnelling” is another advanced feature used to support L3 roaming for wireless clients without forwarding any data traffic to the wireless switch. This can help to significantly reduce network traffic and save bandwidth.

RF, Power Management & Simplified Configuration
To minimise network IT personnel’s intervention, the switch provides automatic selection of unoccupied or least-used Radio Frequency (RF) channels for each wireless access point to avoid interference with other AP and RF devices. For each AP, it also sets a transmitter output power strong enough for RF signals to reach wireless clients, yet weak enough to minimize interference with other wireless devices’ RF signals. This automatic adjustment can be programmed to take effect at a certain time or time intervals, minimizing the need for network administrators to manually intervene. Through a centralised management platform, network maintenance and configuration become a more efficient process.

Self-Healing and Load Balancing
The switch provides important features designed to increase the resiliency of a wireless network - “Self-Healing” and “AP Load Balancing”. To make up for a sudden RF signal vacuum created by any “dead” AP (AP with DC power failure, for example), the switch automatically increases the transmitter output power of all neighbouring APs to expand their RF coverage, thereby “healing” the network “wound.” To ensure continuous connection for current clients, the switch performs load balancing across access points when network traffic reaches a certain threshold, while rejecting new client-to-AP associations to avoid bandwidth overcrowding.

Advanced Management
As an additional sophisticated management capability, Switch Clustering enables network administrators to manage and configure all switches from one single “Cluster Master”. All peer switches situated within the same cluster exchange information about their status, their managed APs, and clients.

Flexibility Of A True Unified Solution
In addition to acting as the controller unit in a wireless switching system, the DWS-4026 can also function as an advanced L2+ wired switch, complete with packet routing, ACL security features, multi-layer QoS, 802.1q VLAN traffic segmentation, IGMP snooping for IP multicast streams, 802.3ad redundant load-sharing Gigabit links, and 10-Gigabit fibre support, allowing businesses to totally integrate their enterprise wireless networks with their wired network infrastructure. Businesses contemplating upgrading their current 10/100Mbps desktop connections to Gigabit capability can deploy the DWS-4026 to take advantage of their ability to flexibly act as a wireless controller or as a full-featured multi-layer LAN switch, or as a dual-role device.

Scalable Expansion & Unified Wired/Wireless Deployment
Designed for distributed deployments in the wiring closet, this switch can support up to 64 wireless access points. With 802.3af PoE integrated into every port, the switch allows connected APs to be located at places difficult to access from AC power sources. Small to Medium Businesses (SMB) may begin with only one switch to manage their APs or with using the switch for mixed wired/wireless LAN purposes. When the number of APs is augmented, up to 8 switches can be added to form a large mobility domain. With easy expansion, Gigabit speed to support next-generation high-speed AP, and packet routing to support enterprise-wide inter-subnet roaming, two 10 Gigabit slots for fast uplink to network backbone the switch provides an architecture that unifies and simplifies otherwise complex WLAN environment and readily prepares an existing network for future technology upgrades.